Sports stats



WHL Vancouver Giants

Giants Win in Portland, Playoff Series with Kamloops Set

March 22, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver Giants' Brett Mirwald in action
Vancouver Giants' Brett Mirwald in action
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Keith Dwiggins)

Portland, OR - Giants forward Ty Halaburda first and last, and goaltender Brett Mirwald was outstanding in in a 3-2 OT win over the Winterhawks in Portland Tuesday night.

Kamloops, the hosts of the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia, will face the Vancouver Giants in the First Round of the 2023 WHL Playoffs, marking the second post-season meeting in as many years between the two B.C. Division rivals.

The first-round series was confirmed Tuesday after the Blazers fell 6-3 to the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Vancouver Giants won 3-2 in overtime in Portland versus the Winterhawks. With Tuesday's results, Kamloops was confirmed as the second seed in the Western Conference, while Vancouver is locked in as the seventh seed.

Last spring, the upstart Giants met the B.C. Division Champion Blazers in the Second Round of the post-season, with Kamloops coming away victors in a six-game series. It's Vancouver, though, who holds the edge between the two sides in the all-time playoff ledger, winning two of the previous best-of-seven series.

1st Period:

VAN: Ty Halaburda opened the scoring 2:10 into the game with a shortside shot, Vancouver's first shot of the game.

2nd Period:

No Scoring.

3rd Period:

VAN: Tyler Thorpe scored for the second time this year in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum when he banked in a shot from below the goal line to make it 2-0 just 3:28 into the third.

POR: Robbie Fromm-Delorme got Portland on the board with a powerplay goal 7:14 into the period.

POR: Diego Buttazzoni tied the game 6:21 later when he grabbed a rebound in the slot and put it top corner.

OT:

VAN: Ty Halaburda ended the game with his second of the night with 0:36 left in overtime.

GAME SUMMARY

Final Score: Vancouver 3 - Portland 2 (OT)

Final Shots:

Vancouver: 18

Portland: 39

Brett Mirwald: 37/39 saves for Vancouver

Jan Spunar: 16/18 saves for Portland

Vancouver Power Play: 0/3

Portland Power Play: 1/6

Check out the Vancouver Giants Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants and Portland Winterhawks on the ice
Vancouver Giants and Portland Winterhawks on the ice
(Keith Dwiggins)		 Vancouver Giants celebrate win
Vancouver Giants celebrate win
(Keith Dwiggins)		 Vancouver Giants' Brett Mirwald in action
Vancouver Giants' Brett Mirwald in action
(Keith Dwiggins)



Western Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central